


Dean Doesn't Like Tuna

by littlesparrow33



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Annoyed Sam Winchester, Bad Flirting, Bonding, Cat Dean Winchester, Feelings, M/M, Protective Benny Lafitte, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-17 06:21:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17555018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesparrow33/pseuds/littlesparrow33
Summary: Benny gets a strange text, Dean has a furry transformation, and Sam doesn't know what to be mad about first. But they all agree: witches are the worst.Set sometime between S08E05 "Blood Brother" and S08E09 "Citizen Fang"





	Dean Doesn't Like Tuna

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Readers, and Happy New Year! I hope that everyone’s 2019 is starting off well.
> 
> One note, FYI: I think I’ve been depressed and I’m trying to work through it. Unfortunately, some of the effects include getting many, many plot bunnies that I’m unable to focus on and finish. They just bounce around my head like little demons looking to distract me all the time, so my updates may be slow. But I’ve been trying to remind myself how good it feels to finish a story and am working to get through the ones that I’ve started. Here’s the first of them. I hope y’all like it, though I’m the only eyes that have gone through it so apologies for any mistakes.
> 
> Also, a quick shout out to **Schmidt1012** , who’s done a story for Cat _Castiel_ , which is so cute and hilarious. (Go check it out! https://archiveofourown.org/works/15287406)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Benny looked at his phone, puzzled by the message that had just come through:

‘ashflat ar walmart parking lot back left corner’

It was Dean’s number, but it offered no explanation. Hesitating, Benny dialed to see if he could get some answers. After a moment, it went to voicemail and Benny cut it off, frowning. Maybe this was a trick from Sam. The younger brother obviously didn’t like that he was a vampire and Dean had called him not long after Prentiss Island to tell him to be careful of certain hunters. While unnecessary, Benny appreciated the warning for what it was and knew he was still in the elder Winchester’s good books.

After another moment spent pondering what to do, another text came:

‘benny help’

He barely registered starting up the truck and pulling back onto the road, heading north. Whatever this was, Benny was smart enough to evade a trap and he was not about to abandon a friend. And knowing Dean, if the hunter had got into trouble that he couldn’t handle…it was probably _bad_.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arriving in Ashflat, Benny managed to find the store. The land was uncomfortably open, but it was still dark in the early morning and he’d found a nearby road to pull over and find an indirect path to the parking lot.

He trekked to the back lot, looking out but not seeing any threats, and quickly spotted Dean’s prized Chevy. After a couple cautious loops, Benny moved closer, but no one was there and there were no traps that he could see. The Southern man edged in to peer through the driver’s side window, hoping to find a note from the hunter, but a thump on the hood made him jump back.

There was a cat now sitting on the car, looking at Benny with the haughty expression that most cats have. He eyed it warily, but it looked like an ordinary cat and didn’t do anything threatening or strange. Shaking his head, Benny moved to look through the window again.

As he approached, the cat began climbing the windshield to sit on the roof by the driver’s door where Benny was peering in. Now _that_ behavior was odd. Most animals didn’t approach Benny, able to smell that something was off about him. This was either a particularly curious critter or it was not what it seemed to be.

Benny stepped back and glared at the cat. “You got something to do with this?” he growled.

The cat looked back at him and then carefully tapped the window three times before staring at the vampire again.

Now Benny could be certain that this was no coincidence. “Are you some sort of witch’s helper? What have you done with Dean?”

The creature made a sound more like the chirp of a bird than a cat’s meow and tapped the window again.

Benny shook his head with a scowl. “I’m not doin’ a damn thing til I know what’s goin’ on. Got that?”

It made a disgruntled rumble at that but seemed to consider its options. The cat looked at its paws then back at Benny a few times. Then it used its right paw to tap the roof once and looked at the vampire again. It repeated this with its left paw, tapping twice.

Benny frowned. He didn’t know much about witches or familiars, but it seemed like the animal counterparts truly couldn’t talk. “You sayin’…one for ‘yes,’ two for ‘no?’” he guessed.

It made a firm single tap and looked back at Benny expectantly.

Benny sighed but nodded. “OK, critter. You know where Dean is?” One tap. “A witch got him?” One tap. “You tryin’ to take me to your witch?” Two taps. It also hit the window again. Huh. “You…tryin’ to take me to Dean?” The cat tapped once, but a bit slower this time, like it was unsure. Benny snorted. “Yeah, right. Like I can trust a familiar.” That got him the most offended look that Benny had ever seen on an animal. Its tail swished rapidly, agitated, and it gave an exaggerated single tap.

The vampire paced a few steps, irritated with the slow process and not knowing how to get to Dean without getting them both trapped. That gave him another thought.

“What about Sam? Did the witch get him, too?” Two taps, but now the cat looked excited, like Benny was understanding more. “Do you know where he is?” One tap, then another on the window. “So, you say you’re takin’ me to Dean _and_ Sam?” One tap.

Benny thought about it. There were no guarantees that he could trust this familiar, whether it was attached to the witch in question or not. But Dean was clearly in trouble—he would never abandon his ride or call for help without cause—and it was at least _possible_ that Sam might be able to help if there would need to be a rescue involved. Benny could still handle himself if it was a trap and what did he really have to lose anyway?

“Fine, I’ll go with you. But if you lead me into an ambush, I’m drownin’ you in a river.”

It chirped in response and jumped to the ground. Benny stepped back warily, but all it did was go under the car and grab a set of keys in its mouth to drop by Benny’s boots. He retrieved them and opened the car, sitting down slowly, but then he was distracted by the cat jumping in over Benny to get to the passenger seat. It reached out to the glove compartment then sat back and looked at the vampire, who took the hint and opened it up. There was the typical registration and some other papers but also a map on top that he pulled out. The cat batted it with its paw until Benny set it on the seat. It looked at the page, then the cat turned and seemed to scan it again before putting a claw through a spot.

Benny looked it over. It seemed to be a local attractions map, so the marked spot didn’t show anything there, which wasn’t helpful. But at least it had the same route number that he’d already been driving on this morning, so hopefully it wasn’t far.

Throwing a glare at the cat, he huffed, “Off we go then, critter.”

Turning out of the lot, the cat struggled to find its balance in the seat and Benny laughed at it (maybe a bit cruel for an animal, but this creature had got Dean into trouble). It grumbled back unhappily and crept down to the floor to curl up in place. Benny just refocused on the road, hoping he was getting closer to his wayward friend.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The location turned out to be an inn a couple towns over, with two floors of rooms stretched next to the parking spaces. Benny shut off the car and stepped out. The cat followed, and even though Benny was tempted to lock it in, he still needed it.

The cat walked confidently across the pavement to the line of doors, Benny following tentatively. They stopped in front of a blank section of wall where the cat turned to the Southern man and put a paw out to indicate a random spot. It started walking again and a puzzled Benny began to follow until it turned and hissed. The cat swiped at Benny’s leg, making him step back, and it tapped the ground again. Apparently, Benny was supposed to wait. Scowling, he stood still until the cat moved again. If it tried to dart away, he could chase it down, Benny considered. But it didn’t go far. In fact, the cat walked over to the very next door and started scratching at it. The vampire listened but couldn’t hear anything other than steady breathing and a heartbeat in the room from one person. The cat seemed to hear the same because it then tried throwing its body against the door with a few louder thumps and that seemed to attract the attention of the one in the room. Satisfied, the cat moved back from the door and sat down to wait.

There were a few heavy steps from inside the room and the curtain in the window fluttered as someone peeked out. Then the door opened, and Benny was surprised to see Sam Winchester. He was further baffled to hear what came next.

“ _Dean!_ Where have you been? I was about to try a tracking spell to hunt you down,” Sam ranted…at the cat.

The animal—Dean?—chirped back, seeming pleased, then turned to look at Benny. Sam followed Dean’s gaze and froze when he saw the vampire awkwardly standing by. Benny noted that he was well out of arm’s reach from where Sam stood and felt an unexpected gratitude toward the feline that he now suspected to be his friend…somehow.

Sam was less pleased. “You called your vampire buddy?” he hissed down at the cat, who seemed to grin back as much as a cat could grin. “How did you even…? Never mind.” The tall man looked around and ordered, “Get inside.”

The cat stood up but looked at Benny instead of going into the room. Benny took a cautious step forward and the cat impatiently walked over and butted its head against the Southern man’s legs to get him going faster. Benny looked from the cat to Sam and shrugged, while the hunter just blew an irritated breath and disappeared into the room. Benny and the cat followed.

It was a standard room, but the furniture was strewn with papers, weapons, and what could be ingredients to something. Sam had walked to one of the beds and grabbed a cellphone from it, scowling as he looked it over.

“You actually managed to text with your claws. You little shit,” Sam griped at the cat.

The cat—who must really be Dean—seemed smug as it jumped on the other bed and got comfortable, curling up by the pillows and watching the other two in the room. In that posture, Benny could picture the human Dean sitting back and smirking at them.

Benny tried really hard not to feel like a fool as he spoke gravely to Sam. “Dean…is a cat.”

The tall man waved at the bed. “Obviously.”

He gritted his teeth at the short reply. “What happened?” he prompted.

“Do _you_ wanna tell him?” Sam snarked at Dean. The now-cat-formed hunter looked unconcerned and scratched his ear. Sam frowned at him and reluctantly addressed Benny. “We were tracking down a witch and caught her in the middle of some spell. And then _that_ happened and she disappeared, but she managed to take all her spell books with her. So, now Dean’s trapped as a cat and we need to find the spell to change him back.”

Benny looked at Dean. “You really shouldn’t be messing around with witches, petit chat,” he teased, trying to regain his footing at the strangeness of it all. Dean growled back, not appreciating the vampire’s tone.

“Why’d you ask _him_ for help?” Sam blurted out to Dean. Giving a doubtful look at Benny, he continued to talk to his brother, rather than the vampire that could actually speak to him. “He’s not a witch, too, right?”

While the cat didn’t react, the Southern man slowly shook his head. “Definitely not a witch. Don’t travel in those circles either, so I don’t have any connections there.” He turned a regretful look on Dean. “Sorry, chief.”

Dean tilted his head back at him and gave a short meow, as if to say, “no worries.” It was surprisingly adorable, and Benny fought to hold back a smile. Sam was not so affected.

“If you can’t help, you should probably just go,” Sam informed him.

Even if that was true, Benny was reluctant to leave with Dean in such a state, relatively defenseless. But Sam’s words caused Dean to stand up again, and before Benny could speak, Dean growled and went to stand as near as he could get to Benny at the other corner of the bed. He let out a sharp meow and pawed at Benny’s leg before sitting and glaring at his brother.

“Dammit, Dean,” Sam muttered. “Look, I know you’re ‘friends,’” Sam said, not even attempting to hide his disgust. “But it’s not safe to have a vampire around when you’re so…small.”

Benny was offended. “I would never hurt Dean. I don’t take our friendship lightly, Sam, and I don’t turn my back on a friend who needs help.” Dean gave that strange chirping noise in apparent solidarity.

“Dean—” Sam began, but this time Benny interrupted.

“I don’t think I can help much on this one,” he addressed Dean, ignoring the other man. “You still want me here, brother?”

Dean gave a single tap to the bed with his paw and then held his head and tail high. Clearly, he was decided, and Benny raised an eyebrow at Sam.

“I know we don’t know each other much,” Benny affirmed. “But I want to help. Just tell me what I can do.”

“ _Nothing_. There’s nothing you can do.” Sam gathered up some papers and books and started toward the door. “We’ll look at the girl’s apartment again, see if she left something. Dean, c’mon.”

But Dean just turned his back on Sam and started licking his paw instead, clearly ignoring his fuming brother.

“Dean!” Sam frowned, anger growing when his brother wouldn’t acknowledge him. Finally, he turned away, grumbling. “Fine, be like that, then.” With a slam of the door, he was gone.

There was a moment of silence as they each took in the strange wake Sam had left behind.

Shifting on his feet, Benny looked at Dean, bemused. “I thought you were allergic to cats?”

Dean’s tail swished up and Benny could almost make out the smirk in his expression once more. He pulled over a chair next to the bed and sat down to look at Dean’s new body. Benny didn’t know what type of cat to call him, maybe a tabby? He was never a cat person, so he didn’t know, but Dean was a dark gray and white with black stripes over his back and quite large ears. Dean had something of a dark mask around his eyes and some contrasting white whiskers with a little pink nose. Fairly short-haired and seemed to be as proportionately spry and muscled as his human self had been. All in all, Dean was probably as handsome a cat as could be found, and Benny thought it just figured.

“I—sorry about earlier, chief.” Benny knew there was no way he could’ve known about the switch, but he hadn’t been very nice. Dean looked unimpressed with the apology and just patted his whiskers with his paw. “How long you been like this?”

Dean paused in his grooming to tap on the bed three times.

“Three days?” A single tap. Benny whistled. “Damn, brother, you get into some weird shit.” Dean gave a wide yawn, showing off his sharp teeth and Benny couldn’t help chuckling. “My god, I’m talking to a cat with little fangs.”

The cat let out a long, plaintive meow at that, in a very Dean-like attempt to complain and just had Benny laughing more.

“Little fangs!”

That got Dean moving to the edge of the bed to swipe at Benny’s face, irritated. But Benny just leaned back and let the laughter run through. Dean sulked instead, curling up and turning his back on the vampire.

After a moment, Benny had himself back under control. “Sorry, Dean. They’re nice little fangs, really.” Dean looked over his shoulder with a baleful eye and Benny suddenly realized that the hunter’s eyes were still a vivid green, just more catlike now. “Damn,” Benny murmured, and when Dean cocked his head in question, he continued, “witches, buddy.” Dean seemed to agree and relaxed a little from his offended posture.

Now Dean looked like any other languid, contented cat, and Benny had to remind himself that he’d never been a cat person and it would be weird to try petting his friend. No matter how soft that fur looked. Or how much he wanted to. God, it had been such a weird morning; he barely knew where to start with this one.

Dean suddenly broke his gaze to look over at the window. Benny looked around sharply but didn’t hear anyone approaching. Just to be sure, he stood up and edged closer to look around the curtain. No one; just the soft morning light beginning to shine and start the day. He looked back at Dean only to see that the feline had followed him to the window and was looking up, seeming contemplative.

“Somethin’ wrong, chief?” Benny asked, lowly.

Dean tapped twice against Benny’s leg for “no,” but then grabbed ahold of his pants to tug at him. Benny took a tentative step, trying to avoid Dean’s paws, and the cat kept at it until he’d tugged the vampire over to the cleaner bed. Puzzled, Benny watched Dean jump up and start knocking the remaining items off onto the floor.

“How much of a cat are you right now?” he wondered aloud.

Dean ignored that remark and finished clearing the space. He then sat and looked up at Benny, waiting. When Benny didn’t move, Dean reached forward to gently grab the Southern man’s shirtsleeve and tug again.

“You want me to lie down?” Benny guessed. A quick tap and Benny slowly complied. Once he’d settled, he turned to stare at Dean. “Now what?”

A couple slow blinks from those sly cat eyes were both mesmerizing and puzzling.

“You tellin’ me to sleep?” Benny was unsure about this, but Dean carefully tapped at each of Benny’s eyebrows and did another slow blink. “This…isn’t really helpin’, though. Isn’t there somethin’ I can do to help get you back to normal?” Dean just blinked again slowly and glanced at the window. True, it was getting on Benny’s time of day to snooze and he’d had a long drive up to Arkansas, but this wasn’t what he’d come here for. “Dean…”

A paw reached out to land on Benny’s mouth, stopping him from saying anything further. It was so strange to know that this was his friend telling him to get some rest. And it was even stranger to imagine the human Dean doing this in place of the cat. He shifted back until Dean’s paw fell away.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Just don’t let me stay asleep if Sam comes back.”

Benny lay on his back and started to close his eyes when he felt paws clambering up onto his chest, kneading in while Dean turned in a circle. The hunter-cat settled down right above Benny’s heart and it looked like Dean was ready to nap as well.

“I thought cats liked _warm_ spaces?” Benny asked quietly, unsure whether acknowledging the cuddling would scare Dean off.

Dean stood up again to meet Benny’s eyes. He looked at the door then back at Benny. Then he leaned in until his pink little nose nudged his throat, sniffing it a bit. Another round of kneading and turning and Dean lay down right where he’d been before, but he kept his eyes on Benny’s until the vampire started to get it.

“You protectin’ me, brother?”

Dean responded with a soft chirp and Benny had to close his eyes against the feelings that evoked.

“Thank you, Dean.”

He’d driven up all this way on the weight of a brief text and found Dean, only for the hunter to turn it all around and protect the vampire instead. Even in such a tiny form compared to the former bulk of the hunter, Dean was ready to put his body in between Benny and danger. Benny was beginning to think he’d never understand this man.

It was a long time before Benny fell asleep to the soft breaths of the cat above him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was much later when Benny woke up. The sunshine creeping past the edge of the curtain said that it was midafternoon, but Benny was distracted by the rumbling sound over his chest.

Nearly a minute had gone by as Benny dragged himself from sleep, but once he realized that the rumbling was coming from a cat, it all came rushing back to him. Dean was a cat. Dean had gone to sleep on his chest. Dean was _purring_.

Eyes wide, Benny tried minimal movements to look down at the sleeping Dean. He tried to reconcile the image of the sprawled, relaxed cat on his chest with the brash, rough hunter that he’d survived with in Purgatory and who helped take down his old nest. Every previous memory of Dean was of a gruff man who valued his personal space. The softest that Benny had ever seen the other man was when they had found the angel in Purgatory or when Dean would talk about his brother. And now that man was cuddled up to Benny’s chest in a small, furry form.

Benny’s hand started to come up of its own accord and he stopped himself just before his fingers could reach those delicate-looking ears. There was a moment as Benny struggled between acting on his impulse or respecting Dean’s space, and that’s when sharp green cat eyes opened to peer straight at Benny. The Southern man froze as Dean blinked and tilted his head in a question that Benny didn’t know how to answer.

“Ah, good afternoon?” Benny tried. Dean just kept looking at him. Benny finally moved, letting the hand he’d left hovering come up to run through his hair. “Looks like you’re still a cat.”

Dean had stopped purring and let out a grumble at that obvious remark. He stood and stretched, claws pricking at Benny’s skin through his shirt. The vampire gave a token protest that was ignored when Dean jumped down to move to the table instead. Dean began pawing through the papers and books there while Benny got up more slowly and stretched out himself. After sleeping in his truck for weeks, a real mattress had felt nice. And the South could wait a while; Benny had just started looking into his past to see if any Lafittes still lived in Louisiana. It had been a couple generations ago that Benny had been turned, so if there were any still living, he wouldn’t be recognized. Might be nice to find family, but it could wait until he helped Dean figure out this witch situation.

“So…is there any way you can tell me the details of this spell mishap?” Benny asked, not all that hopeful.

Dean glanced over at Benny before digging through the piles of paper to pull one out. Surprised, Benny walked to the table to take a look.

There were several notes scribbled down, some crossed off, noting when Sam and Dean encountered the witch, Celeste (real name, Mary Finnegan, living in an apartment in town and working for the district as an administrative assistant). One note questioned whether Celeste was part of a coven but apparently the Winchesters had eliminated that idea. Two notes were circled, saying “trying to create a familiar” and “personal gain.” A few Latin words followed (daemonium…anima…felis) and what looked like crossed-out spells.

Benny hummed thoughtfully. “Looks like I wasn’t far off thinkin’ you were a familiar, chief. That’s exactly what she was tryin’ to do to you.” A low meow caught his attention and Dean tapped twice. Benny frowned. “But these all look like spells for familiars, ‘daemons,’ right?” One tap, but Dean’s tail was whipping around impatiently. “Then what…? Oh, she wasn’t tryin’ to get you, huh? You just interrupted her?” One tap again. “Lucky you.”

Dean bared his cute fangs at him while Benny struggled not to laugh. Dean went back to some other papers and Benny continued digging through the notes. The two hadn’t had any luck finding the witch or her grimoire, so now they were combing their own resources for spell information. It looked like Sam had jotted down everything he could find and was eliminating them systematically. Benny had to admit it all looked very thorough, but they just hadn’t come across any spells for familiars that involved human to cat transformation, though there were some for the other way around that were marked in case they couldn’t determine the original spell.

Benny looked at Dean, who was still nosing through some of the materials on the table. “Why’d she let you get away?” he wondered aloud. Dean looked up and stared at him. Benny shrugged and elaborated, “If she was lookin’ to have a familiar, wouldn’t she try to take you, even if it was not her original idea?”

That cat tail was whipping in agitation and Dean meowed a bit. The sound seemed to frustrate him more and Dean started pacing around the table.

Benny looked on, feeling sympathetic. “Sorry, Dean. I know you can’t talk right now. But you think it’s a fair assumption that she should’ve gone after you?”

One tap of the paw and Dean looked miserable and slumped for a minute. He may not have been able to converse, but Benny had no problem with reading what the other man was feeling. The vampire’s brow creased in thought, then he pulled out his phone. “Well, you were able to text me before, right? You wanna…?”

Dean’s ears perked up and he turned quickly to view the screen. Benny pulled up the text feature and motioned for Dean to proceed. Very carefully, Dean stuck out a paw and extended his claws and positioned them above the keys. He had to strike the keys quickly to get the right amount of force, so he often had to bat at them twice, but he was able to type.

‘thanx 4 comin’

Benny smiled. “Well, I do owe you one, brother.” He thought they both knew that Benny didn’t just come to repay a debt, though.

Dean ignored it at any rate. ‘will try agin or com here’

“You think she can find you?” Benny didn’t think it would be too hard if she was even remotely clever. The Winchesters weren’t exactly subtle folks, even judging on height alone.

The paw tapped twice, then he wrote, ‘hiding’. Dean jumped over to the bed then pointed to a bowl of ingredients there.

“A spell against her magic or something? Smart, but what if she just follows Sam?”

Dean came back over. ‘sam knows her face be ok’

“If you say so, chief. But you should be careful.” A somehow smug-like meow had Benny rolling his eyes. “You already have a spell cast on you, petit chat, I wouldn’t go lookin’ for more.”

Dean gave a little growl. ‘what u call me’

It was Benny’s turn now for a smug smirk. “Kitten,” he drawled with relish. Dean’s ears flattened, and he moved into a crouch, growling. “Oh, calm down, little fangs. It could be worse.” Dean hissed. “Fine, be that way,” Benny sighed. “No fun at all.”

The cat tried to keep looking angry, but soon he couldn’t keep it up and sniffed disdainfully before jumping to the bed and beginning to groom himself. Either Dean had learned the value of keeping clean over the past few days or he had some cat instincts in that form as well because he didn’t hesitate. Benny was curious for a moment before he remembered.

“Oh, right. Do you mind if I borrow your ride, chief? Left all my supplies with my truck.”

At that, Dean perked back up and hopped to stand over by the door. Clearly, he was expecting to ride along, but Benny hesitated.

“I dunno, Dean… If that witch is after you—”

A sharp meow and Dean pawed at the door impatiently.

Benny glanced around. “What about Sam?”

That got Dean to come back to the table. He jumped up and pawed at one of the pens scattered around before looking at Benny.

He sighed and found a scrap of paper to write down a note for Dean’s little brother, including his phone number. “You know he’s gonna think I kidnapped you, right?” Dean seemed wholly unconcerned as he stretched and moved back to the doorway. “Troublemaker.” But he left the note anyway and opened the door, Dean leading the way back to the Impala. With a shake of his head, Benny followed the hunter-cat and they took back to the road.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They managed to get to Benny’s truck and retrieve everything without trouble. Then Benny drove it to the nearby parking lot so that it wouldn’t get towed hanging just off the side of the road. Hopefully there wouldn’t be an issue with it, and when he asked Dean, the hunter didn’t seem to think it’d be an issue either. 

Or Dean just didn’t care whether the truck was towed or not. He’d already expressed his disapproval of the old, rusted thing before and even his new furry face seemed to show the same disdain for the vehicle. Benny thought that was a little unfair, as the thing had gotten him cross-country already, but the other man was a bit of a car snob. Not that he could fault Dean for that; the Impala was a beauty.

On the way back, however, Dean suddenly let out a long, pitiful meow that grabbed Benny’s attention.

“Somethin’ wrong, brother?” he asked, worriedly.

Dean hopped up from the floor mat and gave another sad meow while staring at Benny.

“That…doesn’t actually help, Dean. Are you feelin’ hurt somewhere?”

The cat made his way over the seat toward Benny, making the vampire tense as he tried to focus on driving. Dean came right up to the Southern man’s hip and stretched forward until his little pink nose was nudging at Benny’s stomach. Then he sat back and let out another meow.

“Oh, right, you must be hungry?”

Dean gave a swift single tap to Benny’s leg, and the other man chuckled.

“OK, OK, well…” Benny thought for a moment. “Ah, what do cats eat? Sam been getting you cat kibble or somethin’?”

A growl and two hard taps were the swift reply.

Benny gave the little animal a hard glance. “I’m just tryin’ to make sure I don’t get you sick, chief,” he admonished and was gratified to see the cat settle a bit. “Now, how about tuna? Cats eat fish, right?”

Dean seemed to contemplate that for a moment and Benny wondered exactly what Sam had been feeding Dean but couldn’t get a full response from the cat right now. Finally, a single paw tap came, seeming to be the hunter saying “OK,” however grudgingly.

The Southern man smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll have you back to normal soon and you’ll be able to eat whatever you want. Gotta be better than chasin’ down mice, though, right? You’re not _that_ kind of hunter.”

Dean chirped up at him in what Benny was going to consider as an amused retort. At least his friend didn’t seem too upset and just went to curl up back on the floor. It seemed like that was the easiest point to balance, even with Benny driving at a less hectic pace than he had been that morning.

They got to a gas station and Benny pulled in to check their convenience store. As Benny opened the car door, Dean let out a sharp meow. The vampire looked over to see the cat-hunter looking out the window to a burger joint next door.

“I don’t think so, chief.” Benny shook his head firmly when Dean let out a whine. “Those fast food meals nowadays always smell a little funny. You can do what you like when you’re human, but I’m not gonna feed you that swill when you’re like this.” Dean grumbled some more, but Benny ignored him and hopped out to look for a can of tuna. Luckily, the small store in the station carried a lot of canned and boxed food and Benny had just stepped in line to pay when an incoming call lit up Benny’s cell phone.

“Hello?”

“ _Asshole!_ Bring my brother back here, now!”

Benny sighed. “We’re on our way back, now. Just needed to get a few things.”

Sam swore. “I don’t care, you should have just gone by yourself.”

“Dean’s safe with me, Sam. We’ll be back in ten minutes or so.” Benny was annoyed, so he was sure that he didn’t come off as entirely reassuring, but Dean’s brother was the antagonistic sort. Sam started to say more, but Benny cut him off. “See you, soon.” Hanging up, Benny paid and got out the door.

Getting back to the car, he opened the driver’s side and gestured for Dean to hop out. The cat jumped down as Benny opened the can and set it on the ground. He got an unimpressed look from Dean and frowned right back.

“Not a lot of good options, but it’s food, Dean. And your brother called; he’s worried and wants you back quick, so eat up and we’ll go.”

Dean gave a little huff before sniffing at the can and nibbling daintily. He didn’t pause for long, though, so he must have been hungry, or the tuna wasn’t as bad as he’d figured. Benny filled up the gas tank while Dean ate. After both were done, he chucked the empty can before they went back in the Impala.

Benny gave a small smile. “Wasn’t so bad, huh, petit chat?”

A little growl issued from below the seat and the vampire chuckled.

“C’mon, chief. Let’s get you back to that overbearing brother of yours.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When they got back to the inn parking lot, Benny stepped out of the car and just had time to turn when a furball launched at him. Startled, he caught Dean in his arms as the hunter-cat slung himself up on his shoulder.

“What the hell are you doin’, brother?” Benny asked.

Dean let out a sharp meow and shifted until Benny was cradling the cat against his chest. Then he let out a happier chirp.

Uncertain, Benny adjusted his grip to better support the feline and nudged the car door shut with his hip. “I don’t know whether you’re helping somehow or taking advantage of the situation,” Benny grumbled. “You didn’t strike me as a man who’d appreciate being carried around.”

Dean kneaded the crook of his elbow, tips of his claws poking against Benny’s coat.

Despite the tone, Benny was glad to finally have an excuse to touch. Dean’s fur was as soft as it looked, and the cat was a compact ball of warmth. It felt really nice and Benny wasn’t about to let go unless Dean specifically made a move to. He was beginning to suspect that he was a cat person after all.

Benny walked over and knocked on the door, Sam whipping it open with a frown. The brother looked like he was about to yell when he spotted Dean in Benny’s arms and got a confused look on his face instead. Before they could start anything, Benny walked past him into the room so that Sam could close the door.

“Did you find anything at the witch’s place?” Benny asked. He looked around, wondering where to sit for a moment before Dean squirmed and jumped onto the bed. Inwardly missing the weight of that furry rascal, Benny went and sat on the same bed, looking at Sam to see if he had any more answers.

“No, still nothing,” Sam confirmed shortly. The hunter went back to the table with their research and started poking around on his laptop.

Benny glanced at Dean, who’d lain down and was looking at his brother calmly. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve been conferring with Dean much, with the way he is, but we figure that the witch will still be targeting him. Might track you back here?”

Sam furrowed his brow. “She won’t be tracking us magically, we took care of that.” Turning to the vampire, he asked, “How’ve you been talking to Dean?”

Benny held up his phone. “Typing. Not quick, but effective.”

He frowned some more and stared at Dean, not saying anything aloud, but something was obviously bothering him. Benny glanced at Dean but couldn’t tell what might’ve been conveyed between the brothers.

Feeling uncomfortable between the two men, Benny cleared his throat. “Is there anything that I can do?” Sam looked belligerent, so he followed up with, “I know you want me to leave, but I’m already here. Might as well have a fresh pair of eyes, right?”

Sam was going to have his face freeze that way if he didn’t relax. Eying the papers on the table a bit, Sam considered his options while Benny waited. “Look, we’ve already gone over everything backward and forward. She hasn’t made a move and Dean and I need rest. I don’t want you here…but maybe you can keep watch tonight?”

Benny gave a small smile. “I can do that,” he agreed.

Sam looked him straight in the eye. “Outside, though.” Dean gave a disgruntled meow at that and Sam shot him a glare. “I don’t want a vampire in the room while I’m sleeping,” he said, pointedly.

“Fair enough.” Benny shrugged. The hunter didn’t know him well, and it was a sensible precaution. A sudden weight on his leg had him jumping slightly, though. Dean climbed into his lap and looked between Benny and the door, seemingly asking to wait out with him. “Dean…”

“Dean,” Sam’s voice cut in. “If Benny’s keeping a lookout, you should be here.”

Dean growled low, but Benny jostled him a little to get his attention. “Your brother has a point, Dean.” He looked into those bright green eyes with a little regret. “You’ve got this room protected, you should stay here, and I can catch her if she tries to sneak in.”

Now the noise was more of a whine, but Dean moved off Benny’s legs and the vampire stood up.

Cocking his head, Benny confirmed with Sam. “I’ll just be in the car, then?”

“Sure.” Sam unexpectedly gave a mean grin, and Benny began to see a little resemblance between the brothers. “If you take off with the Impala, Dean will kill you. Cat or not.”

Benny chuckled, glancing at Dean, who also seemed to exude amusement somehow. Regardless of the tension between the vampire and the younger Winchester, Benny could appreciate the man they knew in common. “He definitely would,” he agreed. Then he nodded and walked out the door, making sure Dean didn’t move to follow him.

He made his way over to the car and settled into the driver’s seat. He had a clear view of the room where he’d parked, across the small lot and just slightly down from the door. If anyone approached, he’d see and hear them. Benny settled in and carefully reached in the back to grab the cooler he’d picked up from his truck. Moving slowly so that he wouldn’t spill, the vampire opened a bag to drink, knowing what Dean would say about drinking in the car and trying not to laugh at the thought.

About halfway through the bag, Benny saw the curtain shift in the window and a furry little face peering out. Feeling a little guilty, Benny put the blood back in the cooler, but thought that those sharp cat eyes might have already seen him. Dean stared over in his direction and after a moment Benny was fairly sure that his friend could see him. Shrugging his shoulders, Benny tried to indicate that he’d save the drinking for later, but Dean didn’t move. That furred face still looked out toward the Impala, and Benny realized that Dean had laid out on the windowsill and wasn’t moving. Frowning, Benny waved a hand for Dean to go back in, but his friend ignored the gesture.

With an exasperated breath, Benny fished out his phone and dialed Sam.

“What is it? Do you see something?” Sam got straight to business.

“No, there’s nothing. But you need to get your brother out of the window if you’re actually planning on hiding,” Benny informed him.

“Dean?” Sam’s voice got quieter as he turned away from the phone. “What the hell are you doing? Get off there…” Next, the sound cut out and Benny saw a large hand tug Dean away. Those sharp fangs could be seen before the cat was dragged from the sill, and Benny winced. Dean wouldn’t be happy with the manhandling (or, cat-handling). But it would be safer inside.

Still, Benny’s brow remained furrowed. It was a little strange how fixated Dean seemed to be, even though there wasn’t much the Southern man could actually help with, and he worried that he was missing something obvious that would fix this. He was glad that Dean had reached out, wanting to help as much as he was able, but until Dean could talk and explain himself, it was a mystery as to what made the hunter reach out for assistance.

No matter how long he turned over ideas, nothing seemed to fit, but Benny thought about it and kept watch throughout the night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The following morning there had been no new activity, but Sam did look more rested than when Benny had arrived with Dean. That was something at least. It had Sam in a better mood at any rate and he just rolled his eyes when Dean opted to stay with Benny at the inn while Sam went to the library to do some more research. The vampire walked out to the Impala with Sam to get his cooler before the younger Winchester drove off. Apparently, Sam was tired of the bland Honda they’d stolen, and it would be better if their distinctive car didn’t linger at the inn where Dean was staying.

Before Sam started up the car, Benny asked him, “By the way, you got anything to feed Dean? Don’t wanna accidentally poison him with anything.”

“Uh, well…” Sam gave a half-shrug. “He’s just been chowing on my leftovers so far. Hasn’t been sick yet.” The Southern man stared at him and Sam got defensive. “What?”

“I’ve never had a pet, and even I know cats shouldn’t be eating fast food.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Whatever, just let him howl, then. I’ll be back this afternoon. Text if anything comes up.”

Benny nodded and stepped away so Sam could go get more research or whatever he planned to do. The Southern man would have to figure something out before Dean got hungry.

Walking back into the room, Benny found the keys to the spare car and checked his wallet for cash. Dean watched him blearily from the bed, where he’d been taking a cat nap.

“C’mon, Dean. We need to get you some grub,” Benny said, and the cat slowly stood up and did a long stretch. Dean gave a wide yawn, showing off those sharp little fangs and Benny tried not to find it so adorable.

They went out to the car and after a few wrong turns in town, Benny managed to find a marketplace. Eying Dean, Benny asked, “Think I should bring you in? Don’t wanna leave you alone for too long while you’re away from your hiding spell.”

Dean squirmed in a sort-of shrug and jumped into Benny’s lap and that seemed to settle it.

Getting out, Benny balanced Dean carefully in the crook of his arm and went inside, hoping no one in the store would say anything. Walking around and pondering their options, Benny whispered to the hunter-cat, “What are the odds you’ll actually try normal cat food?”

A low growl in response, with a couple sharp jabs of Dean’s claws.

“That’s what I figured. Maybe they have more fish, or some chicken we can shred for you.” After searching the meat section, the Southern man managed to find some precooked chicken and more cans of tuna from one of the aisles. Figuring that’d work for now, Benny walked back to the cashiers with their items and stared down the scrawny checkout kid, just daring him to complain about a cat in the store. The kid eyed Dean warily but didn’t say anything as they headed out.

They made it back to the inn without incident and Benny breathed a short sigh of relief once they were back in the relatively safe zone of the room. Carefully cleaning one of his knives in the bathroom sink, Benny took the chicken out of the packaging and cut off some strips for Dean to eat. His friend was a lot happier now than eating the tuna yesterday, so Benny considered it a success.

After he’d finished, Dean cleaned his face a bit with his paws and Benny idly glanced through their research papers, wondering if he could do anything with the information but not recognizing much of the writing. It seemed some witches did their spells in code or some variation that he hadn’t seen before.

There was a thud as Dean jumped to the floor and wandered into the bathroom. After a moment, Benny heard the sink going and looked over curiously to see Dean lapping at the running water. Bemused, the vampire walked over and watched Dean bat the knob back when he was through.

“Clever for a cat.” Benny smirked at the hunter, who sat back on the counter, looking haughty. “Do you scoop your own litter, too?”

Swishing his tail up proudly, Dean strolled over to the toilet and easily tapped the lever to flush it. He looked up with a so-there expression and Benny burst out laughing.

“Aw, cher, you put all other cats to shame,” he teased, laughing some more as Dean lifted his nose in a snooty way.

The hunter-cat didn’t keep it up, though, and jumped down to wander back into the other room, just walking back and forth a bit to stretch. Benny watched, thinking that at least Dean hadn’t seemed entirely put out by this transformation, just inconvenienced and occasionally frustrated at not being able to communicate.

“Hey, Dean,” he called out, curious. “How fast are you, now?”

Dean looked up at him, head tilted, and let out a short meow in question.

“Well, if we get in a spot and have to run, I’m just wondering if you can make it away or if Sam and I need to get you,” Benny reasoned as he thought it over himself. “So?”

The cat seemed to consider a moment and then looked around the room. From a standstill, Dean suddenly leapt onto one of the beds before dashing to the other and hopping to the table in a matter of seconds, scattering papers over the side. Before they stopped falling, Dean leapt through the air and scurried under the bed on the far side and Benny whistled.

“Not bad, chief. You can certainly dodge well enough.” That could be mighty helpful, and Benny could worry a little less.

A sharp chirp and Dean came out from under the bed, close to the wall. He looked up at Benny, then at the door.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” He hadn’t heard anything off.

Another chirp and Dean began tapping the floor next to him. Benny thought it was similar to when the cat had stopped him out of range when they first arrived, so he walked over to where Dean was tapping and got an approving meow.

“OK, what now?”

Dean looked up and then at the door, again. When Benny couldn’t figure out what to guess, Dean dashed across the room and back in a quick little lap. He looked back up at Benny and the Southern man began to get it.

“You wanna race, brother?” He smirked. “You may be faster than you were, but I’m still a vampire.”

The cat just ducked into a crouch and waited for Benny to call it.

Chuckling, Benny also made ready. “OK, chief. In three, two, one…go!” The vampire jumped into motion and made it to the door in moments before Dean, but the cat was able to turn smoother and easily avoided the furniture as obstacles, so he made it back before Benny could. The little brat was smug about it, too, and meowed up at the vampire. “Lucky shot. Again.”

They raced around the room and Benny was sure any other occupants in the nearby rooms wondered at the stomping feet and scrabbling claws, but it was fun. And Benny hadn’t had much fun in a long time. Soon enough, though, Dean was slowing down, and he stopped to pant like a dog at the foot of the bed.

“Looks like you’re more of a sprinter than an endurance runner, petit chat,” Benny commented as he sat down on the covers, leaning back on his hands.

A quick grumble came from the floor and Dean hopped up on the bed to lie down next to the vampire and pant some more.

The Southern man hummed thoughtfully. “If we got a long way to go, running, I’ll have to make sure to pick you up.”

Distracted in calculating the cat’s speed and agility, he didn’t realize that his hand was petting Dean’s fur until the hunter let out a questioning chirp.

Jerking his hand back, Benny stumbled over his words. “I—Aw, shit, sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking…”

But Dean let out a whining meow and looked expectantly at Benny.

“…Sorry?” he tried again.

Those bright green eyes closed for a minute and Benny could imagine the exasperation in that stance. Dean stood up again and strolled up to the pillows, tapping repeatedly and glancing at the window. It was getting to be midday now and Benny would have to rest, and so Benny tried to shrug off his faux pas and lay down. But he was shocked when Dean nudged his way under his arm and nosed at his palm.

Hesitantly, he stroked between Dean’s ears and was astonished to hear the hunter purr in response. Benny kept up the gentle motions until Dean moved again, but only far enough to curl up on Benny’s chest once more. When Benny didn’t resume his petting, Dean stared at him and meowed plaintively.

More delicate strokes through that soft, warm fur and Dean’s breathy purrs soon evened out into true sleep. Benny was relaxed by the repetitive motions and the rumbling frequency of those purrs, but all the same, he wished that Dean could speak and tell him what this was. The hunter had been his friend long before they left Purgatory, but this affection… He _needed_ to know what Dean was really thinking.

He drifted off, wishing his friend could talk to him once more.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It wasn’t much later when Benny woke to a knock on the door. Dean was still fast asleep, so Benny slowly edged the hunter-cat off his chest and onto the bed, his friend only half-waking. Another knock had Benny standing up and setting himself defensively between the door and Dean.

“What is it?” he called out.

“I have fresh towels for the room,” a woman’s voice called back.

“We’re all set,” Benny replied. “Thanks anyway.”

“Oh, but this is my last room for the day. It’ll only take a minute, sir.”

“I said we’re fine. Don’t worry about it.” He listened closely and heard the woman sigh and walk away with some cart wheels following her. Relaxing, he turned back to the room and smiled at the snoozing cat on the bed. Not wanting to disturb Dean, Benny wandered over to the bathroom where he’d stashed his cooler and opened a bag to drink.

He’d just finished his second bag when he heard a key in the lock and jumped to attention. Benny hadn’t heard any footsteps approaching and knew that wasn’t right. But the door had opened already, and a woman was coming through in a maid’s uniform.

“You’re here!” she spoke joyfully, staring at Dean, who was just waking up at the noise. The woman started to approach but Dean looked up and jumped back with a hiss.

That was enough; Benny grabbed the woman’s arm and tossed her back against the far wall. “Who are you?” he demanded, already knowing who it must be.

“I’m Celeste. You have my cat!” She was clearly surprised at his strength but was trying to play it off like a mistake. “I’ve been looking all over for him; I’m so glad you’ve found him!”

Dean gave another hiss in the background and Benny snarled, “ _Bullshit_. I know you’re a witch and you’re trying to take off with Dean. That’s not gonna happen.”

“What? That’s…crazy,” she said, unconvincingly. “This…is just a mistake…he’s my cat.”

“Nice try, Mary,” Benny grit out. “Pull the other one.”

She scowled at her real name and dropped the act. “He’s my familiar. You _have_ to give him to me.”

Benny pressed into her arm a little harder. “Dean’s not going anywhere with you. Tell me how to change him back.”

Celeste then tried to squirm away and muttered something under her breath. When nothing happened, her eyes went wide, and she started to look truly panicked. “What’ve you done to me?”

“You won’t be casting any spells in here, witch.” Benny shot a look across the room to the spelled ingredients. He noted Dean was crouching menacingly at the foot of the bed and tried to warn him to stay back with his eyes. “We’ve got protection against that. Now tell us how to change Dean back to human.”

Suddenly furious, the woman tried punching Benny with her free arm and squirming. She was shouting, “You can’t _do_ this! I need my familiar! Give him _back_ …!”

Benny rolled his eyes at the weak human strikes and was about to shove her back when Dean leapt to the floor, arching his back and hissing loudly enough to interrupt Celeste in her angry rant.

Quickly, Benny shoved her away and tried to urge Dean back, “Don’t get too close, Dean. She can still hurt you without magic.” But the hunter-cat stood his ground and hissed at the witch again, who’d gone still.

“Why are you…?” She seemed puzzled. Then she tried to reach out to Dean. “Just come here, and I can help—”

A low growl from Dean and he backed away, twining himself around Benny’s feet until the Southern man picked him up protectively and he settled down. Eyes wide, the witch seemed suddenly stricken.

“ _No!_ No, no, no, no, no…” she cried out. “You _can’t_ have bonded to him; it was supposed to be _me_.”

“What do you mean, ‘bonded?’” Benny gritted out and was promptly unnerved as the witch collapsed on the floor in tears.

“The spell is supposed to create a bond with the familiar. It’s _supposed_ to link _us_.” Celeste gestured between herself and Dean as she sniffled. She turned morose, staring pathetically at Dean. “We were supposed to be together forever. I’m _good_ ; why couldn’t you bond with me?”

Benny growled low. “Maybe because you shouldn’t force a bond on someone else,” he spat out. “If you’re so good, you wouldn’t have to spell Dean, or anyone, to become your pet.”

“A familiar is not just a _‘pet,’_ ” she argued, showing a little backbone even as her cheeks were damp with tears. “A familiar is loyal and true and trustworthy. Everything that people are not.”

“Look, I don’t care what you were ‘trying’ to do, what you actually _did_ was turn my friend into a cat against his will.” Benny glared. “Nobody really good would do that. You’ve gone too far.”

She slumped at that and sniffed some more. “What are you going to do to me?”

Benny glanced at Dean and set him down on the table, taking out his phone. He’d need to call Sam, now, since he had no clue what to do with a witch. After confirming with the other hunter that the witch was here and unarmed, Sam agreed to come back and help sort it out. Celeste just sat on the floor and continued to cry as Benny kept watch over her and Dean sat rigidly, watching them both.

Sam arrived and looked relieved at seeing Dean unharmed and Celeste on the ground, clearly not fighting back now. “OK, Celeste, time to tell us how to get Dean back to normal.”

She shook her head miserably, but before Sam or Benny could get mad, she grumbled, “He’ll be back to human in a few hours.”

The hunter and the vampire exchanged an unconvinced look. “How?” Sam demanded.

The woman sighed. “The bond hasn’t been completed. Today was the last day to finish the spell before it reverted. It took me too long to find you.” She raised her teary gaze to Dean, who just showed his sharp fangs back. Another sigh. “So unfair.”

“What’s this whole ‘bond’ thing about?” Benny asked gruffly, trying not to show his worry.

“A witch and a familiar have a special bond. Once both have connected, the transformation is complete. But it must be shared, or the spell fails.” A disappointed look between the cat-hunter and the vampire. “So stupid of him to bond to _you_ ; only a witch can complete it.”

That eased Benny’s mind a bit and Sam looked satisfied enough with that. The hunter got another set of ingredients from the table and set it in front of Celeste. Sam took the woman’s arm and his knife and had her bleed into the bowl for a moment. Benny’s nose twitched a little at the fresh blood, but he wasn’t truly hungry, so he ignored it. The younger Winchester spoke an incantation and the ingredients disappeared in a bit of fire, the witch looking a bit dazed and resigned.

Sam stood up and turned to Benny. “That’ll keep her from doing any more spells. I’m going to follow her back to wherever she’s been hiding and get her grimoire and anything else while I’m at it. You gonna watch over Dean and let me know if he changes back like she said?”

Benny nodded gravely and went to stand next to the table by Dean as Sam gathered his duffel and whatever he needed to keep the witch secure. He nudged Celeste toward the door, and she started off reluctantly, but paused at the threshold.

Celeste turned and held out a hand toward Dean. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I swear I would’ve been good to you,” she told him. “I just wanted to have a connection; something better than what’s out there.”

Dean sniffed disdainfully and didn’t budge from his spot. Once she and Sam had left, he turned and made a soft meow at Benny.

The Southern man sighed. “Witches, buddy.”

Swishing his tail, Dean hopped to the bed and turned soft eyes back at Benny, who sighed again. He supposed that their rest had been interrupted, and they didn’t know the exact minute that Dean would turn back, anyway. Benny lay back down on the bed and let Dean settle into his customary spot and forced himself back to sleep until Sam returned. The last thing he felt was the little mound of fur breathing quietly atop his chest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Benny woke up, surprisingly warm. Usually blankets didn’t generate so much heat, but he was very cozy for a change. When he shifted, Benny figured out why.

There was no longer a little furry weight pressing on his heart, but rather a broad chest and long limbs curled against him. Benny could feel legs twined around his as he was clasped in the closest, warmest embrace that he’d felt in decades. Taking in the sensations carefully, Benny inhaled sharply when he realized that the only clothes separating him from the body above were his own. As the vampire opened his eyes, he found a mop of dark blonde hair just below his chin that belonged to the now-human hunter.

“Dean,” Benny ventured softly, relieved, and a little anxious at the other man’s naked state. He had no idea how the hunter would take to waking up this way.

Dean’s reaction was to tighten his hold and press his face against Benny’s collarbone in a catlike nudge. “Mmh?” Dean hummed.

Benny closed his eyes tightly, fighting to hold back his immediate reaction to that gentle vibration running through him. “You’re human again, brother,” he informed Dean in a murmur.

That got Dean to stir a bit more, his arms and legs stretching and releasing as the man appeared to catalogue each muscle. Benny stayed still as a board, clenching his jaw as the hunter squirmed on top of him while he lay stuck below.

Satisfied, Dean let his weight settle back down on Benny with a sigh of relief. “Good,” he exhaled against the vampire’s neck. He didn’t move further, seeming content to stay where he was.

Clearing his throat, Benny asked, “You…wanna get up, chief?”

Dean grumbled back, “Naw, comfy.” He snuggled in, with his face pressing against Benny’s neck.

Benny was wondering what course of action to take when events progressed out of his control. The motel door opened, and Sam made his way into the room, stopping short at the sight of his brother sprawled naked over the vampire. Trapped and unwilling to throw off Dean, Benny managed to sneak his arms free and hold them out in the universal not-touching signal to Sam. Only Dean seemed not to react at the state of things, as Benny tried to put on an innocent expression while Sam dropped his bag on the floor in shock.

“What the _fuck?_ ” Sam barked at them.

“Dean just turned back.” Benny didn’t like how his voice was higher than usual, but he’d never had a naked Dean on top of him before, either. And he also didn’t enjoy the glare he received from the younger brother at his curt explanation.

Luckily, Dean interrupted. “Sam?”

The tall man let out a breath of relief and his tone was a lot lighter as he addressed his brother. “Yeah, Dean?”

“Go away.”

Sam frowned. “What?”

Dean shifted to lean up on one elbow and look over his shoulder at his brother. Benny sucked in a silent breath as Dean’s hips moved against his thighs unexpectedly. “I’m human, now. I’m fine. And I wanna talk to Benny. Come back later.”

Now the tall man was gaping. “But, Dean—”

“Or you can keep staring at my naked ass, ’cause that’s not weird at all.” The flat sarcasm almost got Benny laughing, but he stayed quiet.

Sam’s face turned red. “You—” he started, but then cut himself off and stormed out the door.

Dean chuckled quietly while Benny carefully kept his eyes on the hunter’s face rather than the exposed chest shaking in front of him. He was really going to have to move soon or this was going to get awkward. “Dean?”

That got the hunter to stop laughing and turn back to the vampire. Those green eyes were still hazy with sleep and his lips were stretched in a full, contented smile. He didn’t speak, but instead kept his weight on one arm while he lifted his free hand to Benny’s jaw, fingers lightly rubbing against the other man’s beard.

Benny’s eyes went wide. “Sure you’re feeling right again, chief?” he asked, hesitantly.

“I’m fine.” But Dean didn’t stop touching him and this didn’t seem like the hunter at all.

The Southern man tried to edge his way out from below the hunter, but Dean moved with him. “C’mon, brother, you gonna get up? Sam’s not gonna stay away forever.”

All that did was make Dean’s smile wider. “Sam can wait.” He ran his fingers along Benny’s neck as the other man swallowed nervously. “Thank you for coming, Benny.”

“Well, you called for help. Wasn’t gonna ignore you.” Benny frowned a bit. “Not that I could do much anyway.”

Dean shook his head emphatically. “No, Benny. You coming up here was _everything_. Those first few days were awful…nothing felt safe, I couldn’t stop pacing. Couldn’t relax at all until you got here.” He went back to touching the vampire’s beard but now Benny was distracted.

“Was that…the ‘bond’ the witch mentioned? You still feeling it? Are you OK?”

“Naw, the bond’s gone. Couldn’t feel it when I woke up.” Dean didn’t seem concerned, as he continued trailing his fingers over Benny. “But I felt it, before. Part of the spell, I guess. Needed someone I could trust. Someone just right. Glad I kept my head, or I might never have figured out how to reach you.”

“If you needed someone to trust, why didn’t you just connect with Sam?” Benny queried, trying and failing to ignore the hunter’s touch.

“Dunno, things have been weird lately. Maybe he doesn’t trust me anymore. Wouldn’t be surprised. Besides, it didn’t feel right.” Dean’s eyes followed the path of his hand all around Benny’s face and neck, still smiling softly.

Benny’s eyebrows furrowed, doubtfully. “But…a _vampire_ felt right?”

Green eyes finally locked back on Benny’s blue ones and made the Southern man miss a beat. “ _You_ felt right, Benny.” Dean’s face came closer. “Had to be _you_.”

Benny’s thoughts halted entirely as Dean’s lips met his, gently pressing, and Benny kissed back automatically. God, but that mouth was divine, full and eager against his own, though the hunter didn’t venture very far. Before he knew it, Benny’s hands had come up to frame the other man’s face, pulling him in closer, needing more. He was lost in it for he didn’t know how long before leaning back, letting Dean get some air. The hunter’s breathing had picked up a little, but he gave the vampire space without complaining as Benny tried to get his bearings.

“Oh, brother, now I know you’re still under a spell,” Benny murmured.

“Why’s that?” Dean asked, calmly. Too calmly.

“You wouldn’t kiss me for any other reason, cher. Either that or this is some dream.”

The other man chuckled as he pawed at Benny’s face more. “Think you’re selling yourself short, Benny.”

Benny shook his head, with no little regret. “You told me in Purgatory that all you missed from up here were Sam, pie, and tits. You’re not…well…”

Dean snickered. “Not homo? Dude, you don’t know everything about me. And it’s not like we were spouting off all our secrets down there.” He shifted over Benny leisurely and pressed a short kiss under Benny’s chin. “Besides, I’ve seen you looking at me, before all this.”

“Well…” Benny tried to think of something to respond with, but Dean continued.

“And with the bond we just shared, I _know_ you care.”

The vampire stared up at Dean a bit helplessly, unable to deny it but unable to embrace it, either. There was no way that Benjamin Lafitte—a bloodsucking _monster_ —was lucky enough to have someone this special in his life more than once. “How do I know you’re right in the head, now?” His voice was hoarse. “This don’t seem like you, Dean.”

The hunter sighed. “My head’s a bit fuzzy, I’ll admit. It’s weird going from cat to human. But I know what I felt, and I know who I am.” He leaned close to stare into blue eyes, seriously. “My name is Dean Winchester. I’m an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach…and I know a vampire who cares enough to come help me when I need him. I _like_ him.”

That was enough; Benny surged forward to reclaim Dean’s lips again, the younger man giving a pleased hum in response. God, he was selfish, and this was completely undeserving…but there was no way that Benny could resist this hunter. Licking at those full lips, he got Dean to open up for him and the younger man’s hot tongue came forward to play against his own. It set off sparks down his spine and Benny groaned into Dean’s mouth. Soon his hands decided to join in and explore the expanse of the hunter’s naked back—Dean had surprisingly soft skin, where he traced scattered scars and felt the tempting swell of that ass.

They had only just begun to start when the buzz of Dean’s phone interrupted them. Benny’s head fell back onto the pillow in frustration and Dean leaned in to follow, mouthing over Benny’s throat even as he reached blindly to the side to retrieve the cell. The hunter sucked hard once, making Benny groan, before pulling back to read the message. Giving a brief hum of acknowledgment, he turned it towards the vampire.

‘You have 15 minutes then I’m coming back and Benny better be gone’

Benny thumped his head back again in irritation. “Your brother hates me,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, he does.” Dean didn’t even try to argue, but he was looking a little less dazed than when he first woke up. Propping himself up on his elbows, Dean typed a response and tossed the phone to the side before giving Benny a brief kiss. “I’ll drive you back to your truck.”

Benny’s hands reflexively grasped at Dean’s hips, not wanting to let go. But he nodded and forced himself back. “All right, chief.”

Dean stretched as he leaned back and got off the bed. Benny couldn’t tear his eyes away and drank in all that golden skin while he could, getting a nice look at the hunter’s cock as well—just about as perfect as the rest of him. If Sam wasn’t around…but Benny knew there was no avoiding the younger brother at the moment, so he reluctantly stood up as well.

Before long, Dean was covered up and they headed out to the Impala. Benny watched carefully and saw that Dean’s limbs were moving a little looser than he’d like. He offered to drive and knew that Dean was still a little affected by the transformation when he didn’t argue, tossing the vampire the keys before slouching into the passenger seat.

They had a quiet ride down to Ashflat, Dean resting with his eyes closed and Benny sending worried glances his way. Finally, they pulled into the parking lot next to the truck and the Southern man turned off the car. There was a brief silence as Benny tried to figure out something to say while Dean blinked awake. Before he could do anything, however, Dean opened the door and stepped out, Benny quickly following him.

Surprisingly, Dean went around the truck, opening the passenger door and hopping into the cab, the vampire doing the same on the other side. Sitting on the bench seat with the hunter, Benny wasn’t sure where to start trying to say goodbye. Luckily, Dean took the lead.

“Where are you going from here?” the hunter asked.

“Louisiana,” Benny told him. “After everything with the nest…I figured it was time for a homecoming.”

Dean hummed agreeably. “Good idea. You’ll blend in better down there with your accent.” He gave a lazy smile and Benny just wanted to bring the hunter down South with him and never let him go. But he knew what the answer would be if he asked; whatever was happening here, Dean would never abandon his brother.

Taking a quick breath, he asked Dean, “And…what’s next for you?”

A shrug. “Same old, same old. Pack up and look for the next hunt. Try to keep the world from going to hell, the usual.” Dean let his eyes trail over the vampire, though, looking sly. “I’m thinking we might try looking around the South for a while, though. If you let me know where you end up, I can meet you there when we’re on break.”

“Dean… Even if you wanted to make something here, I’m a vampire. You’re a hunter. You really think that can work?” He hated saying it, but Benny had to be realistic before he got in too deep.

It seemed like Dean wasn’t on the same wavelength, however, as he shifted over to Benny’s side and swung his leg around to straddle Benny, awkwardly maneuvering around the steering wheel and nearly hitting his head on the roof. Bracing his hands on the Southern man’s shoulders, he leaned in for a kiss, which Benny couldn’t refuse. Dean took his time enjoying Benny’s mouth for a while before sitting back.

“I’m a hunter, true, but you are so much more than the average vampire, Benny,” Dean told him. “I have no idea if this can work long-term, but I’ve never been so certain about wanting to try before.” Benny wasn’t given any time to respond, as Dean looked into Benny’s eyes intently and stated, “So, you’re gonna go find someplace nice to be down South and I’m gonna come find you later. But right now, I’m gonna blow you, so you won’t forget me when you get down there, OK?”

There was no arguing with that. “OK,” Benny breathed out as Dean moved to open his pants and fish out his already-stiffening cock. Shuffling back to the other side of the seat, Dean gave Benny a saucy smirk before leaning over to engulf the vampire’s prick in one go. The sudden heat of the younger man’s mouth around him had Benny’s hips jerking involuntarily. “ _Merde_ , Dean!”

Dean was focused on sucking his rapidly growing erection, but the skin around his eyes crinkled in amusement. He backed up a little bit only to trail his tongue along every inch of Benny and reached in with one hand to play with the balls below.

Benny set his knees wider as he tried to anchor himself, grasping the door tightly with one hand and the other splayed over Dean’s shoulder blades. He hadn’t been this hard for an _age_ and it was taking some effort to hold back and not hump mindlessly into Dean’s mouth. Instead, he tried to focus on the details: the flex of Dean’s shoulders as he bobbed over Benny’s lap, the slick trail of saliva where Dean’s lush mouth stretched around Benny’s erection, the quiet huffs and grunts as Dean worked over him… But far too soon it all began to blur together in a swell of pleasure, and he dug his fingers into Dean’s back in warning just before spending himself to the heat.

Dean drew back far enough to suck and swallow at the tip until Benny slumped into the seat, overcome. Finally, he let Benny slide out of his mouth with a parting lick, making Benny give out a last, short groan. He carefully slipped Benny’s cock back into his pants and zipped the Southern man back up with a cat-that-got-the-cream grin. No man should ever look that gorgeous, Benny thought wildly before taking Dean’s face in his hands and pulling him up for a long kiss. The younger man acquiesced and gladly opened his mouth to the vampire, who groaned while tasting himself on the hunter’s tongue.

“…Seras la mort de moi,” Benny muttered against Dean’s lips.

Raising an eyebrow, Dean replied, “French, huh? Not gonna lie, that’s pretty hot.” He sucked on Benny’s lower lip and the vampire couldn’t take it anymore.

Surging forward, Benny pushed them back toward the passenger side and flipped Dean the other way, so that he was crouched over the younger man as Dean was laid out across the seats. The hunter was surprised at the change in position, but not unhappy with it, as he stretched up to get ahold of Benny’s mouth again. Benny kissed back fiercely as he blindly reached to open the other man’s jeans. Realizing what Benny was trying to do, Dean eagerly moved to assist, and they managed to get the pants down to his knees.

Pulling back, Benny leveled a look at Dean as he licked his palm, getting it slick before reaching down to grasp Dean’s cock. The other man’s eyes were lidded in deep pleasure, and his lips were full and shiny as he breathed heavily.

“Ah, _fuck, yes!_ ” Dean groaned out when Benny started pumping him. His dick was bright and hard and warm in Benny’s hand and the hunter squirmed wantonly below him.

Benny let out a low groan as he mouthed over Dean’s cheeks and throat. “You are _trouble_ , mon cher,” he growled out. “Paradin’ around, jumpin’ into my truck, all wantin’ and eager for it.” Dean grunted and threw his head back, opening his neck to Benny in a display that had him heated, but not for anything a vampire might want. He licked and nibbled at that delicate skin, making the hunter moan and squirm under his touch. “Need a bed next time, so I can open you up and give that ass the attention it deserves.” He moved his free hand underneath the other man to drag a thick digit over the tight pucker he felt there.

Dean made a thrilling little sound as he jumped under Benny’s fingers. The hunter’s hands spasmed and gripped wildly along Benny’s back. “OK, _yeah_. Whatever you want, Benny.”

Benny faltered a moment as he heard the surprised reaction. Whatever Dean’s previous experience had been, had he never had another man inside him? The idea had him shaking in want and he stopped moving for a moment, Dean giving a short protest until Benny shifted lower. Quickly wetting a couple fingers, he moved his hand back over Dean’s hole as he lowered his mouth on that tempting cock.

Fingers were now latched and pressing into Benny’s hair, but he didn’t care a jot as he lapped and sucked at Dean’s erection, enjoying the strangled sounds it provoked. He kneaded the ass below with one hand while his wet digits moved to explore the sensitive opening. God, the heat that the hunter was putting off was incredible, and Benny groaned around the dick in his mouth as he nudged one finger inside.

Those tight ring muscles clenched around him and Benny hummed again, pleased that Dean was panting and squirming for _him_. He opened wider, taking in more of Dean’s erection until he could feel the tip reaching the back of his throat. It had been a long time, but Benny suppressed the reflex to gag and focused on feeling as much of Dean as he possibly could. His actions made the fingers in his hair squeeze tightly and it was only a few more passes before Dean came.

Benny eased the hunter through his release until the other man tugged Benny back up for some languid kisses. They breathed into each other and Benny didn’t want to move. After some time had gone by, however, Dean shuffled upward, and the vampire reluctantly sat back into the driver’s seat. The younger man tugged his jeans back into place and let out a satisfied breath.

“That your first blowjob since getting back?” Dean asked suddenly.

Benny raised an eyebrow. “Matter of fact, it was.” It wasn’t like he’d been looking for any company in between getting his revenge and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his time on Earth.

Dean grinned. “Good. You won’t be forgetting that anytime soon.”

Benny chuckled and reached out to pull Dean into another kiss. “What a ridiculous notion, mon petit chat,” Benny murmured, getting a short glare from Dean.

“You are never feeding me tuna again,” he replied. A brief peck on the lips, and then Dean was opening the door and hopping out of the truck. Before he walked away, however, Dean turned and met Benny’s gaze straight-on. “Text me your location when you get down South?” he confirmed.

“Sure thing, chief,” Benny agreed, and was granted another grin as Dean shut the door and walked back to the Impala. He drove off and Benny took a moment to be grateful that they were the only two vehicles in that particular corner of the lot, since he was sure they hadn’t been quiet. Not that a potential audience would have stopped him any; that Winchester was irresistible.

Benny touched his lips and smiled. He sure wouldn’t be forgetting any of this for a long, long time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Weeks later, Benny was organizing his things in the makeshift camp area he’d made for himself. Things were going surprisingly well for him: he’d found a great-great-granddaughter of his running her own place, Guidry’s Cajun Café. Benny had managed to get hired on as the night cook there and watching his many-times granddaughter at work was the highlight of his days. The only other thing invading his thoughts was a certain green-eyed hunter that he hadn’t heard from since he’d texted his location in Carencro.

Shaking his head, Benny tried to get his mind on other things, but that became pointless as he heard the rumble of a familiar engine coming down the road. Hardly daring to hope, Benny didn’t move until he heard the car come close and pull in front of Benny’s truck. Finally creeping around the side, he was greeted with the sight of Dean climbing from the driver’s seat.

“Heya, Benny.” Dean walked forward and pulled the vampire into a brisk hug that was warmly returned.

Stepping away again, Benny looked over the other man. Those eyes seemed clearer than when he’d last seen them and there was a slight flush to the hunter’s face. Probably embarrassed from his actions before, Benny thought. He resigned himself to disappointment and smiled back. “Good to see ya, Dean.”

Dean seemed to struggle for a moment. “Look, Benny… About before…”

Benny quickly shook his head. “You don’t have to explain, it’s fine, chief.”

The hunter frowned at that and Benny grew wary, but Dean just stepped in closer. “No, I just… I wanted to say that I might’ve been a little, _off_ before, but I—You gotta know, Benny, I meant it. All of it.” Those green eyes were moving quickly, making brief eye contact then darting away again. “Maybe I was a little high, or something, from that spell, but it was all true. What I said, I mean. If that’s…still OK, with you…?”

Dean was fidgeting but didn’t back down and that showed Benny more than anything that he was being genuine. Trying to fight down the grin lurking in his lips, Benny caught that hesitant gaze. “I wasn’t under any magic spell; you know what’s OK with me. You still sure, Dean?”

“C’mon, man,” Dean grumbled. “You gonna make me say it?”

“Didn’t have any trouble before,” Benny teased, but still had a question in his tone.

“Asshole.” Still, Dean stepped up and grabbed ahold of the lapels on Benny’s jacket. “I like you, you idiot. Now tell me I didn’t imagine that whole bond thing, or so help me…”

Benny figured leaning in for a kiss answered that well enough. Dean responded immediately, although he _was_ moving a little more slowly, in a bout of shyness that hadn’t been present before, but Benny found it endearing. So, the vampire kept pace, leisurely exploring Dean’s mouth, but still edged around until he had Dean pressed against the side of his truck. The sound that escaped the hunter when he felt the cool metal against his back was low and heated and thrilling. Benny couldn’t help putting his weight into it to feel as much of Dean’s body as he could press against, and the other man positively keened around Benny’s tongue.

Another more urgent groan escaped him before Benny wrested his self-control. Pulling back, Benny lifted a hand to Dean’s jaw, looking into those brilliant green eyes, dilated with pleasure. “Dean,” Benny rumbled and saw the hunter’s hungry look at his rough voice. “How far you wanna take this, cher?”

“ _Jesus_ , Benny,” Dean hissed back. “As far as you wanna go.”

Benny closed his eyes. “Merde.” He struggled to remember what he’d concluded when he last had Dean in his truck. “You ever had someone inside you, cher?”

Dean flushed a little but held his chin up. “No, but it doesn’t matter. Sex is sex.”

The Southern man shook his head. “It matters; should have a bed,” spoken regretfully.

The hunter frowned and gripped Benny’s neck. “Not made of glass here; I’ve fucked in rougher places than this.” He pulled the vampire closer. “C’mon, Benny. Let’s do this.”

Benny pushed Dean against the truck again. “Crazy stubborn hunter,” he growled and felt his spine electrify at Dean’s deep grunt when Benny’s hips brushed against the hunter’s jeans. “There’s nothin’ to prove here. But if it’s pleasure you’re lookin’ for, I’ll give it to you.”

Dean looked as though he were about to say something snarky, but Benny silenced him with a deep, dirty kiss. He let his tongue trace every nook and crevice of that gorgeous mouth until the younger man was focused on nothing else. But Benny could feel Dean’s interest growing below and reached down to open the man’s fly. A quick zip and the Southern man was able to slip inside to fondle Dean’s erection, making the younger man suck in a breath.

“Good, Dean,” Benny praised. He withdrew to a frustrated growl from Dean before moving to tug down those jeans and leave his swelling cock open to perusal. The vampire gave another quick stroke before turning Dean to the back of the truck. “Get on in.”

Dean waited a moment to give Benny a deep kiss, just to counteract the other man’s bossiness. But he climbed onto the open tailgate eagerly enough, clearly wanting to get on with it. Before he could slide all the way in, Benny pulled back on Dean’s hips until the hunter was kneeling on the edge of the space, ass lined up perfectly for Benny to admire.

“You may not have done this before,” Benny drawled, “but you did like my fingers in you when we were in my truck the last time, didn’t you?” He quickly licked his hand and traced a wet finger around that tempting hole and Dean breathed heavily in excitement, and maybe some nervousness.

“Yeah,” he admitted, voice pitched higher than before. Dean wiggled his ass a little as he tried to improve his position for what Benny seemed to be offering.

The vampire smirked. “Then I think you’re gonna like this, cher.” Benny dipped his head and trailed his blunt teeth over that smooth ass cheek before licking close, but not over, that puckered skin. Even avoiding the most sensitive area, it made Dean jump a little.

“You mean—you’re gonna…? _Oh!_ ” the hunter exclaimed as Benny dragged his tongue in closer. “ _Fuck_ , that’s…” He cut off as Benny ventured inward, tracing the rim much as he’d done with Dean’s mouth earlier. The Southern man managed to draw out the most delicious, incomprehensible noises from the younger man as he stimulated the nerves along the channel. He flicked his tongue and received some more cursing from the other man and Benny grinned.

Drawing back a moment, Benny mouthed over Dean’s ass. “So responsive,” he murmured appreciatively, and caught sight of Dean’s ears turning red. “Très réactif.”

Dean groaned. “ _Fuck_ , Benny.” His legs unconsciously shifted wider in wanton display and Benny’s own libido sparked in response.

The Southern man dove back in, licking and pressing and sucking until Dean’s legs were trembling and he was panting into the floor of Benny’s truck bed. His hole had loosened a bit and Benny decided it was time to up the ante. Drawing back, he quickly wet his fingers and tried an easy push with one digit.

“ _Ah!_ ” came the enthused cry from the hunter. “Jesus Christ, finally. _More_.”

Grinning to himself, Benny obliged, pumping his finger back and forth and stretching Dean out. Then he began alternating between the thick digit and his tongue until he felt that the hunter was ready for another. It was tight and he felt Dean shift uncomfortably for a moment.

“Easy, darlin’,” Benny soothed, keeping still until he felt Dean relax. He wet his fingers again and tried both once more, feeling the muscles ease at his touch now. “That’s it, cher. This is gonna feel good, I promise.”

The hunter laughed airily. “Feels good already,” he breathed out.

Benny chuckled back and worked his fingers some more, seeking out the right spot. He knew he had it when Dean jerked suddenly with a needy sound. Smiling and pressing a kiss to that warm, wet skin, Benny teased at the younger man’s prostate until Dean was rocking back onto his fingers. Hearing the newfound urgency in that rough voice, Benny reached underneath Dean to palm at his erection, the tip leaking with precome. Now that the Southern man had doubled his pleasure, Dean was moving faster now, curses and Benny’s name spilling from his lips until he came with a sharp cry.

Benny nearly bit through his lip at the feel of Dean pulsing around his fingers, even as the hunter spilled all over his hand. He let Dean jerk through his orgasm, only letting go of his cock once the other man had stilled. Bringing his left hand to his lips, Benny licked up the mess Dean had left behind, the sharp scent of sex all around. Another breath and Benny gently eased his fingers out from Dean’s hole, missing the tight heat once he’d left it.

Trailing his hand over Dean’s backside, Benny peppered kisses over the hunter’s ass. The younger man slowly calmed as Benny etched the view into his memory: Dean open and red and wet from his mouth. This would be on his mind every time he took himself in hand, he was sure.

The vampire felt the hunter twist and start shifting back, so Benny stepped away to give Dean room to get out of the truck. When Dean turned around, Benny couldn’t quite figure out the expression on his face before the other man dropped to his knees with a grin and started working open Benny’s trousers.

“I know you liked my mouth well enough before,” he spoke slyly. “You wanna fuck me like that, again?”

Looking down at that handsome face with those full lips, Benny felt his dick twitch in anticipation. “Yes,” he managed, gruffly.

Dean pulled Benny’s pants and underwear down below his hips and then took a moment to just hold Benny’s length in his hands. He mouthed teasingly over the head once, making Benny groan, before looking up with a glint in his eye.

“Y’know, I thought my memories were just hazy from before,” he began. “But maybe you have a point with the bed-thing. Gonna need some time to get _this_ inside me.” Dean stroked him a few times to show it off and Benny reached down to steady himself on Dean’s shoulder. A lick and a wink from Dean had his grip tightening. “Show me what you got, big boy,” Dean challenged as he opened wide and took in the first couple inches.

Benny wanted to laugh at Dean’s cheesy line, but that impulse fell away at the feel of Dean’s warm mouth around him. Groaning, Benny just tried to keep upright as the hunter reacquainted himself with Benny’s hard prick. The younger man was licking and sucking as enthusiastically as he had weeks ago, putting the last worried corner of Benny’s mind at ease. Dean was slowly taking in more of Benny’s erection and his hands began to drift to the backs of Benny’s thighs. With a glance up at the vampire, Dean began to tug in time with his mouth until Benny was rocking into him.

The Southern man would love to say that he’d been on the edge for too long and that’s how Dean got him off so fast, but if he were honest with himself, it was seeing Dean open up to him in every possible way. All it took was a flash of those gorgeous green eyes and the feel of his erection stretching out those stubbly-soft cheeks and Benny was a goner. He wildly slung out his hand to grip the edge of the tailgate hard so that he wouldn’t fall onto the hunter as Benny emptied himself into Dean’s mouth. Dean was able to swallow him through it and Benny groaned at the tight squeeze he could feel around his cock.

Finally, Benny pulled back and Dean released him with a wet pop that got Benny moaning. The vampire leaned on the tailgate, watching as the hunter stood up and pulled his still-loose pants back into place. He chuckled at the dirt staining the front and playfully tried brushing them off, only to have Dean grab his wrists and lean in close. The younger man pressed a trail of kisses up Benny’s neck while the other man arched into the touch.

“Mm, Dean,” Benny hummed appreciatively. He felt Dean smile into his beard and also the hunter’s busy hands going to work, tucking his member back into his underwear and straightening him up.

Once everything was put back to rights (as much as they could be), Dean leaned back and looked over Benny with a smile. “So, just to clarify: you’re on board with this?”

That got a rumbling laugh from Benny. “You got it, cher; I’m on board. You’re a hard man to say ‘no’ to.”

“Good.” Dean smirked. “Because I saw some rooms available in town. I think that some of them even have beds.”

A fresh stirring of lust flared in Benny at the invitation. But a quick glance at the sunset beginning to color the sky reminded him. “I’m supposed to be on shift tonight,” he said, regretfully.

Surprisingly, Dean continued to smile. “Just call me when you’re off work, then. Unless Sam raises a red flag, I have all week.”

Delight welled up in Benny as he repeated, hopefully, “All week?”

Dean nodded and confirmed, “All week. Think that’ll be enough time?”

“To get my mouth on every inch of you? Maybe.” Benny grinned at Dean’s red cheeks. “I’ll take whatever time you’ve got, Dean.”

The hunter’s expression turned serious. “All the time I can give, Benny, you’ve got it. A week here, a day or two there, any time I can get away, I’m yours, OK?” He didn’t wait for the Southern man’s response before continuing, “I’m sorry it can’t be more. This way of life can be… Well, it can be real shitty. You don’t have to…”

Benny reached over and pulled Dean in tight, cutting off the man’s apologies with a fierce hug. “I want this; I want _you_ ,” he rumbled against Dean’s ear. “Things have changed from before; I need you to trust me when I tell you that.”

Dean sighed into the vampire’s shoulder. “I try to keep remembering that bond. It was the most certain feeling I’ve ever had, but it was harder to be _that_ sure as time went by. But I trusted you before the damn spell, anyway. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Benny smiled and kissed the soft spot below Dean’s ear. Releasing the younger man, Benny stepped back and cleared his throat. “Think you have to get back to town, then, and I’ll give you a call after shift?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Dean pulled his keys from his pocket and gave them a twirl. “Unless you’d like me to meet you at the café for dinner?”

“Might be a bit difficult to concentrate on cookin’ if you’re there.”

“I don’t know. If it’s a slow night, maybe we can have some fun?” He smirked and waggled his eyebrows.

Benny grabbed a rag from the back of the truck to throw at Dean. “You stop your teasin’ and get us a bed, already,” he grumbled.

Laughing, Dean started walking back to the Impala, hands up in surrender. “OK, OK… I’ll text you the room number and you call me when you’re done.”

Benny leaned against the truck, watching Dean hop into the car and start it up. The hunter backed up and gave a wave as he turned out to the road. The vampire waited until Dean was out of sight before tilting his head back and grinning dazedly up at the sky. Not an hour ago, he’d been thinking that he’d be missing the hunter for the rest of his life. And now Dean had chosen him.

A lover, a granddaughter, a job…Benny had a life again. And damned if he’d be letting it go.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
THE END  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~


End file.
